


Crescendo of the Stars

by BluePearlLamentation



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Human, Drug Use, F/F, F/M, Polyamory
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-28
Updated: 2020-01-30
Packaged: 2020-05-28 06:43:21
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 9,652
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19388632
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BluePearlLamentation/pseuds/BluePearlLamentation
Summary: [INCOMPLETE / NOT FINISHING (see last entry for details)]It's the early 90s. Writer and lyricist Greg Universe is enjoying a slow but steady ascension into stardom thanks to the help of his new manager. Elsewhere, the passionate Rose and her band of companions have carved out a life for themselves in Beach City. The stars align and on one fateful day, Mr. Universe and Rose Quartz meet one another.Greg falls for the woman and their lives wrap up with each other. The young rock star will need to confront not only his own shortcomings, but contend with Rose's as well. Together they will have obstacles to overcome - both new ones with their relationship, and enemies of the past.





	1. The Preshow

**Author's Note:**

> This is a human AU beginning with the pretense of "What if Greg didn't give up his dream of being a rock star, and instead continued to pursue it even after meeting Rose Quartz." 
> 
> A few things of note:  
> \- While this is taking place vaguely in some "late 80s-mid 90s" time period, and I will attempt some historic accuracy (no iphones! no gamecube!), perfect accuracy is not the aim of this fanfic. As such, there may be anachronisms or other "unrealistic" things done for the purpose of story. Think of something like Star Wars - yes, it's set in a futuristic outer space setting, but as a space opera its focus is still on the characters themselves.  
> \- I personally headcanon gems as their voice actors/tresses when it comes to their human race. Bear this in mind if this is not explicitly described in the story (Examples: see Bismuth as a black woman, see Pearl as a Filipino woman, etc.)
> 
> Hope you enjoy the story!

Greg Universe felt his hands grow numb as he recalled his cosmic encounter.

* * *

A temperate night on the beach. A light breeze wavering across the stage. His hair blowing around his face. He played a few of his songs off his latest record; he nailed every note, every lyric, even the improvised guitar solos sounded heavenly as they screeched out of the amps. Like many of the successful concerts before, he performed splendidly.

Though, Beach City apparently wasn't a place where rock music was popular. That could be the only assumption Greg could make given that less than half a dozen people showed up for the show. It didn't stop Mr. Universe – he played passionately whether it was for one person or one hundred people.

Good thing he had fired his old manager sometime back. Marty had gotten Greg off the ground, but something in his gut told him that Marty was bad news. Maybe he couldn't put his finger on it, but that didn't matter. Greg trusted instinct. Still, Greg couldn't help but feel a little bad after doing it since Marty _did_ manage to get him a few good gigs and start the process for signing to a label

Thankfully, a friend of his introduced him to a friend of a friend. That person was Vidalia. Once a musician herself, a hand injury made it too difficult to continue playing the bass guitar. She briefly considered continuing on as a vocalist, but tossed that aside to pursue the management side of the business. Greg found her to be a bit blunt at times, perhaps bordering a brash rudeness, but Greg recognized that Vidalia had her heart in the job. Which is where he felt Marty fell short – his was in it for the cash.

Vidalia was off somewhere in the city. After the show, one of the attendees bought an album. Greg briefly wondered how this gig would've gone if Marty were still in charge. Marty never worked too hard on advertising concerts or hyping him up with the locals. Greg chuckled to himself, imagining some alternate universe where he'd only play for literally a single person.

Greg was preparing to start packing things up when a woman approached the vendor desk.

“Hello, Mr. Universe.”

Greg looked up at the woman, meeting her gaze. She was quite tall – taller than Greg. Her bright, rose-colored hair curled around as it fell from her head down to her legs. He glanced quickly at her pink lips, and found himself nearly speechless as the seconds passed by.

It wasn't just the fact that she was beautiful. But he hadn't expected to see someone who looked like her in this small town. Someone who, at first glance, he knew was one of a kind.

She picked up one of the albums. “Space Train to the Cosmos?”

Greg took a short breath, and collected himself. “Yeah! One way ticket and I'm ready to ride!”

“And how will you get back?”  
  
“Back?”

“Back to Earth”, the woman replied.

Greg leaned back and grinned. “Well, guess I'm never coming back.”

The woman chuckled. “Guess I'll need a ticket out there myself if I want to see another show.”

“Space tickets can be pretty expensive. But hey, would you like that?”

“Like what?”

“That.” Greg tapped the CD cover. “Vidalia says that I shouldn't give away merch for free, but I think I can make an exception. Just this once.”

The woman smiled. “That's incredibly kind of you, Mr. Universe.”

“Oh, you can just call me Greg if you'd like. Mr. Universe is cool and all, but it's kind of my stage name. Sorta like, you know, Slash, or Elton John.”

“Very well, Greg. It's nice to meet you, and I loved your performance. You can call me Rose.”

* * *

He hadn't even begun to speak, and yet his throat felt dry. Greg already had a conversation with her, so why was calling her so difficult?

He sat on his bed, staring up at the poster of Randy Rhoades pinned to the ceiling. He twirled the phone's cord in one hand, trying to think of what he would say.

Greg sighed and finally dialed the number. “Mind as well throw myself into the fire,” he muttered.

After each ring he swallowed. Four times it rang before he heard a familiar voice.

“Hello?”

“Hi, this is Greg from the other day. From the show you went to. I played at Beach City and then we talked and stuff. Oh, right, this is Rose, yeah, right?”

The woman on the other end of the line chuckled. “Yes, Greg, this is Rose. And I do remember you. I'd wondered if you had forgotten about me.”

“Forget about you? Never!” Greg waited a few days to call her, not knowing if it would be weird if he called almost immediately. Besides, he never learned anything about where exactly she lived or where she worked, so he didn't know her availability.

“Well, I'm glad to hear that. So, how's the rock and roll been going?”

“Oh, you know. It rolls, it rocks. Had a show in Mountain Village yesterday, and that was a sweet gig. About a hundred people showed up and we sold ten records and a couple shirts.”

“My stars, you're practically famous!”

“Don't patronize me.” Greg tried to sound serious, but he ended up chuckling.

“You know, I didn't get the chance to tell you that I'm a bit of a musician myself. Well, I sing, anyway. I'm not very good with any instruments.”

“Really? Huh. Well, I can't say I'm surprised. You seem like someone who would have a lot of stage presence.”

“Much like yourself, hmm?”

Greg blushed, and was thankful Rose couldn't see how red his cheeks turned. “If you say so. It's sorta one of the things I've been working on. Vidalia says it's gotten a lot better since she took over.”

“Ah, yes, you told me that a few months ago you got a new manager?”

“Sure did. And she's shot up my popularity more in five months than Marty did in an entire year.”

“Sounds like you made a good decision in getting a new manager.”

“Yeah. But hey... you said you were a musician, even if you just sing. So what, do you do karaoke or something?”

“Not exactly. I'm in a band myself, but we're not known much around. We mostly play in Beach City and get invited to house parties sometimes.”

“Hey, that's cool! We all start somewhere. I used to play in this park by my parents' house and hoped people would stop for a bit and listen.”

“And what about when you're not entertaining a crowd? What does the world-renowned Mr. Universe do when the spotlight isn't on him?”

Greg paused for a moment, caught a bit off guard from the sudden topic change. “Well, I, uh. I guess I try to enjoy my life, try not to harm others, help others when and if I can. I want my music to have a positive impact on people, and so I think it makes sense to try and do that whenever I can. I don't want to be one of those people who put up an act just so people like them. I want to be the real deal, and show kindness wherever I go, in all aspects of my life.”

“I see. That answer makes me happy. It's an important thing to me; my friends and I all try to help around our community when we can. Serve up free food, offer to fix things up, even offer an ear to listen if that's what's needed.

“Glad we're on the same page. I don't like selfish jerks. Not that I thought you were one! But I just don't get how someone can see that others are in need and not wanna do something about it, you know?”

“I agree. It's unfortunate that's how so many people are, but I think a lot of them can also change if you help them see that there's another way.”

“That seems right,” Greg replied.

“So, anyway, where are you playing next? I don't suppose you'll be playing in Beach City anytime soon.”

“The show was kind of a flop, so I don't think so.”

“That's unfortunate. I was hoping to show you around Beach City. sometime.”

“Oh, I mean, I could come by when I have the time. I live between Beach City and Empire City, a bit closer to Empire City. It would probably only take an hour to get to you at most.”

“Are you sure you'd want to drive that far?”

“I practically live in my van! When I'm not home... I only got a place two months ago. But besides, seeing you would make it worth all of the while.”

Greg could hear her laughter from the phone. “You're kind, Greg.”

“Although, if you have a way to drive, I've actually got a show in Empire City this weekend. First time I'm playing there! If you could come, I'd probably be the happiest I've ever been in my life.”

“This weekend. I think I could make it. Would you mind if a couple of my friends came too?”

“Not at all. The more the merrier.”

“Great! I can't want to introduce you to them. I'm sure they'll find you delightful.”

“I sure hope so. I don't want to leave a bad impression on your friends.”

Greg gave her the details of the show. Time and place, parking areas, that sort of thing. They chatted for a little while longer, making small talk, and then they said their goodbyes. After hanging up the phone, Greg yawned. It was a bit past eleven and he was feeling tired.

_Guess I'll see her again this weekend,_ he thought.


	2. Empire City!

“You've all your lines memorized, right?”

“Of course I do, Vidalia. I wrote them myself.”

“It's still easy to forget. I know you don't get stage fright, but this is looking to be your biggest crowd yet. I don't want to see you screw it up.”

Greg groaned. “I'll look over them again, if it would make you happy.”

Vidalia smiled. “It would. I've got a few things to do, you need anything?”

“Nope. All good here.”

“Alright, good.” Vidalia turned around and exited the room, her long blond hair obscuring everything but her white boots as she left. Once she closed the door behind her, he was alone in the dressing room.

The dressing room wasn't exactly five stars, but it wasn't too shabby. All the lights worked, the mirrors were clean, he had a couch to lay on, and plenty of room to move around. Greg spun around in his chair, his mind wandering elsewhere. He hummed a few lines from his songs, reading the lyrics in his head as he did. He even took out a piece of paper and scribbled a few lines onto them. He figured that if Vidalia came back and saw them that she'd be satisfied with his practicing.

After lounging around for a few more minutes, Greg got up and walked over to a floor mirror. His brown hair nearly touched the floor. His black shirt and jeans were a bit torn up, but that was a part of the fashion. A plain yellow star sat in the middle of the shirt. He eyed his feet – a pair of converse.

He'd worn flip flops for the longest time, but one day Vidalia told him to ditch them, at least for shows. “You look like a beach bum trying to sell me a seashell necklace,” she told him. Not exactly the look of an up and coming rock star.

Greg brushed his hair a bit and left his room. He turned to lock it, and when he spun around again he ran into someone. Greg nearly fell down after bumping into the much larger figure.

“Oh, hey, sorry! I, uh.”

The figure turned and glared down at him. Whoever she was, she was at least a foot taller than him. Greg figured she must've been at least as tall as Rose.

“You're going to be ready when you're up?” The woman wore a red vest underneath a black suit. It was a bit harder to her over the din of the music.

Right. The manager of the venue. He hadn't directly spoken to her yet, but Vidalia knew her. Vidalia had plenty of contacts in the music business thanks to her previous ventures into the music scene.

“Yeah, Jasper. I'm just getting some fresh air before I'm up.”

“Hmmph,” she grunted. “I hope you're all Vidalia's hyped you up to be.” She continued on her way.

“She's a gruff one,” Greg muttered under his breath. He brushed himself off a bit and kept walking. He navigated the hallways, making his way towards an exit. Finally, he found one, and pushed the door. He stood in an alley.

He breathed in the air. Might not have been as fresh as the air in Beach City, but better than the stuffy dry air of the venue. The music dimmed again, and he wandered down the alley and towards the front of the building. In front of the venue was a parking lot, and from what Greg could tell, it was packed. Greg still hadn't seen the crowd itself yet, but he assumed there were a few hundred people. This would be a big show, and an important one. He felt a lump in his throat. Was this his make it or break it show?

If it was, he was gonna tackle it head on.

He walked towards the entrance, slowly. He surveyed the area, trying to see if there was a familiar face around. If Rose was anywhere to be found. There were plenty of people hanging around outside and in the parking lot, so he had to scan slowly to see if he could recognize her. After a minute, he sighed. She could have been inside already. Or maybe she couldn't make it after all.

He looked down at the ground and kicked a rock. “Drat.”

“Mr. Universe!”

He heard a voice from the parking lot. He turned his head, and sure enough, he saw Rose jogging towards him.

“Rose!” Greg grinned as the woman closed the distance between them. Instinctively, he raised his arms up for a hug. Before he could register that it might be weird to offer a hug to someone he still hardly knew, Rose was next to him and embracing him. He dug himself into her shoulder, his nostrils filling with a flowery scent.

“It's good to see you, Greg,” Rose began. “I thought I wouldn't see you until after you played, since you'd probably be too busy practicing and getting ready.”

Greg rubbed his neck. “Yeah, well, I guess I could be spending my time a bit smarter. But I was feeling a bit nervous, and wanted to see if I could find you.”

“Find me?” Rose smiled and laughed. “Well, I'm flattered. I went back to our car to grab my purse.” She showed the plainly decorated pink purse to him. Greg didn't know much about purses, but it looked cute on her.

“My friends are over to the side there. Do you want to meet them?”

“Sure! I know you said that if you came that you'd bring some of your friends along.”

“Great, just great. I'm excited to show you to them.”

Greg thought the wording sounded a bit off, but shrugged it off. He followed her to where a group of four people were standing around. They were all dressed for a rock show, that was for sure. One of them was even smoking a cigarette.

The shortest one was the first to notice their approach. “Yo, Rose! Is this the guy?”

“Yes, Amethyst. Everyone, I'd like to introduce you to Greg Universe. Or Mr. Universe, as he's known on the big stage.”

“I'm Amethyst.” The woman stuck out a hand and shook Greg's excitedly. She had hair framing her face, dyed some sort of light purple color. She wore leggings and a crop top that exposed a bit more than one would expose in decent company. Greg averted his eyes as to not seem rude.

“Hello.” A tall black woman in jeans and a flannel addressed him. He glanced at her shirt and recognized the face on it – Angela Davis, with the word “liberation” on it.

“Hey kid, you can call me Bismuth.” She grinned, reaching out a hand and squeezing it a bit harder than necessary. She had dreadlocks and looked as though she spent a good portion of her day at the gym. She was wearing a suit much like Jasper's, though Bismuth's had shiny spikes on the shoulders. He wondered just how sharp they were. Coincidentally, she was about as tall as Jasper, and the one who didn't give her name.

“Pearl.” The last one was a tall woman, about the height of Greg. She took a drag off her cigarette, blowing it a bit close to Greg. She didn't botherto make eye contact. She wore jeans, a pair of vans, and wore a leather jacket over teal shirt. Her brown hair swept her face and seemed to curve to a point behind her.

“And she's Garnet,” Rose elbowed the woman with the flannel. “Don't worry, she'll warm up to you.”

“Hey! Nice to meet you all. And, uh... interesting names you all have.”

“You didn't tell him?” Amethyst asked.

“Oh! Right, well,” Rose began. “See, remember how I told you I was in a band?”

“Sure do.” He was catching on.

“Well, here are my bandmates. I'm the singer, and they're the instruments. Together, we're The Crystal Gems! But we're kind of more than a band. We do all sorts of volunteer work, you know, we're good samaritans, humanitarians, that sort of thing.”

“You told me you and your friends did stuff around Beach City. So, social workers by day, rock stars by night?”

Rose giggled. “You could call it that. We just devote so much time to helping others and fixing things and playing music that we prefer to go by our stage names. Our theme is gemstones, so that's why we're all named as such.”

“I see. So, Rose isn't your actual name?” Greg sounded a bit disappointed. Rose was a cool name.

“Well, it is. But in full, I'm known as Rose Quartz. So the Rose is a stone, not a flower. 'Rose' is my nickname. Well, the nickname of my nickname. Can nicknames have nicknames?”

Greg waited for an answer, but it seemed she was genuinely asking him. “I uh, well, sure, why not? A nickname within a nickname!”

Rose snapped her fingers and smiled widely. “Great, you understand then. Though don't misunderstand me, I do very much love the rose flower. It just happens to work out that the name has a few things it can reference. Which as you may imagine works out well when writing song lyric.”

“You bet I understand. That's why I love writing about outer space and stuff, remember my song 'Just a Comet'?”

“I do! You ended the concert with that one.”

“Outer space, huh?” Pearl took another puff off her cigarette. “Yeah, I believe the likes of Bowie and Elton John already used that sort of symbolism.”

“Well, it's a great topic,” Rose said. “I use the rose as a symbol often, there's nothing wrong with Greg coming back to space in his lyrics.”

Pearl leaned back against the building. “Yeah, sure.”

“ _Universe_!”

The group turned to the voice. Walking towards them, scowl on her face, was Jasper. “Look, the singer of the band before you suddenly got a scratchy throat or something and they had to stop. I need you to get up on that stage pronto.”

“That sucks. I hope he'll be okay. Alright, sorry everyone, but I'll try to catch you after the show if you want to meet up here.”

“Didn't think I'd be seeing you anytime soon, Rose Quartz.” Jasper scoffed.

Rose bit her lip, but said nothing.

“You a part of this guy's band now that you're not with your diamond pals anymore?”

“Fuck off, Jasper.”

Jasper shrugged. “Whatever, it's just a question. Hurry up and get on the stage, I got a crowd wanting a show.” Jasper turned and disappeared inside.

“Diamonds?” Greg asked.

Rose sighed. Greg looked around and saw the rest shuffling uneasily. Even Garnet and Pearl looked uneasy.

“A bit of unpleasantness from my past,” Rose said. “Before The Crystal Gems, I played in another band. We were kind of famous, at least we had a large following around the area. I don't want to talk about it right now, though. I came here because I wanted to have a fun night. I wanted to see _you_.”

Greg nodded. “Right, I understand. Don't worry about it. I should get going though. Will you all stick around after the show?”

Rose frowned. “I don't know, Jasper might come bug me again. But hey, I came all the way out to Empire City. Maybe you can make your way to Beach City soon.”

“Beach City? Yeah, I can see to that. I owe you one for coming out to see me. It means a lot.”

“If I don't see you after the show, then I hope I see you in Beach City next.”

“Sounds good.”

“Promise?” Rose stuck out a pinky.

“A pinky promise, huh?” Greg laughed and wrapped his pinky around hers. “I promise.”


	3. A Hard Past

He wasn't too sure where to park his van, so Greg picked out an empty parking lot near the beach. Squinting at the building, he didn't see any activity inside. It looked abandoned. The sign on the front of it said “It's a Wash”.

Greg parked the van and wandered down the street a bit. Rose had told him that she'd meet him on the road behind the lighthouse – the one which sat upon a cliff and overlooked the ocean. Along the way he found an empty can on the sidewalk and began kicking it ahead of him. After a few kicks he frowned, picked up the can, and scanned the area for a recycling bin.

He wandered over to the closest business he could find. Its roof sported a large frosted doughnut. He didn't bother looking for the store name; by the side of it he found a recycling container and tossed the can in.

“Greg?”

Greg turned around. Approaching from the beach were Rose and Amethyst.

“Hey!” He called out to them. Greg walked forward a few steps. Rose greeted him with a hug before smiling down at him.

“It's so wonderful to see you again. Did you have any trouble finding your way?”

“Not at all.” Greg shook his head. “Even found a nice spot to park over there by that old car wash thingie.”

“Great! I think just about everything I wanted to show you tonight was in walking distance. The beach is, well, the main attraction of Beach City.”

“Jeez, never would've guessed that.” Greg laughed, and Rose joined in.

“Is uh, Amethyst showing us around or something?”

“Nah. Since you and Rose are gonna be gone all night, I'm going out to grab some pizzas for the rest of us.”

“Oh, you got a pizzeria here?”

“Yeah. Ain't the best, if I'm being honest, but a pizza is a pizza.” She shrugged. “The best part is the toppings. They've got a huge selection. You got a favorite kind of pizza?”

“Well, you can't ever go wrong with pepperoni.”

“That's it? Eh, kinda boring. Bet you'd get along with Pearl, she likes plain cheese pizza. Ugh. She's so weird with food and I cannot wrap my head around her sometimes.”

“She just has... a special taste,” Rose interjected.

Amethyst scoffed. “Yeah, if you wanna call it that. Guess that's the special something you see in her. Well, I'm off. Later guys.”

Amethyst continued walking into Beach City, but something caught Greg's ear.

“Hey, uh, what did Amethyst mean by seeing something special in Pearl?”

“Huh? Oh! It's one of Pearl's little quirky things. It's little personality bits like that about her that make me love her. I do hope the two of you will get along.”

“Love her like... she's your sister or something?”

“Oh no, she's not my sister. She's my girlfriend.”

Greg scratched his head, and found himself completely lost. “I, uh, I'm trying to make sense of this but I'm confused. Did I misinterpret something? I've been kind of under the impression that we were sort of having a date? And I thought you liked me? Like, liked me liked me?”

“But I do, Greg.” Rose kept eye contact with him, and then groaned after a moment. “Greg, I apologize. I think I must have forgotten. I've been dating Pearl for a number of years now, but we're not exclusive. She can date whoever she likes, and I date whoever I like. And we don't put people onto different tiers or anything, we've agreed that everyone will be on equal levels with how much we care and view others. Sorry, this way of doing things comes so naturally to me that I forget that most people aren't polyamorous.”

“I see.” Greg looked at Rose, then turned to the side. “That's not something I've come across personally before.”

“I'll understand if that means you no longer wish to pursue me, and whatever small thing we've built with each other. Others have felt the same and we've gone our different ways because of it.”

Greg took a deep breath and sighed. “You know, maybe I've never done it before, but I don't see why I can't give it a shot. It sounds like you're experienced in this whole thing, so maybe you can help me work out any weird feelings I end up getting.”

Rose nodded. “Thank you, Greg. And yes, I'd be happy to help.” She reached out and ran her finger through Greg's hair. “I really did think I had mentioned it during our phone call after your concert. I can be so forgetful.”

Greg chuckled. “It's okay. It's not like you forgot to tell me you're an alien or something crazy like that.”

“Lucky for you, I'm not. At least as far as I know.”

Greg cracked a few of his knuckles. “So, you're dating Pearl, and you like me. Not something I expected, but life's full of surprises.”

“I didn't think our first real date would start off so seriously.”

“Better to get the hard part out of the way first, huh? Now we can relax the rest of the evening.”

“I suppose there's some sense of relief now that I know you're okay with it. I mean, silly me, I had thought that already. But now I can come down from the second realization.”

“Shall we?” Greg gestured towards the city. “I don't know where you wanted to take me, so, lead the way!”

Rose nodded, taking the lead. Greg followed by her side, and they wandered down onto the boardwalk.

“Well, one thing I've not had the chance to explain much was what we do. The Crystal Gems, that is. I felt like it was something I wanted to tell you in person, and when we were actually in Beach City.”

“I get that. Some things are better saved for face to face. I remember you told me you did things like volunteer and community service type stuff??”

“That's correct. Though we are also a bit... some say we're a bit too pushy.”

“Pushy? How?”

“See, we don't just do things. We talk, too. And we hand out flyers, pamphlets, books, literature, we try to educate people.”

“I don't see what's wrong with that. But I can see how that might bug some people.”

Rose nodded. “More specifically, I would consider ourselves revolutionaries in some way. I think you would understand that. I mean, you're a rock star, you dropped out of college, you moved away from your parents. You know what it's like, to feel like the odds are against you and you've got to rebel against the system. While we're giving away food or cleaning up the city, we're telling people about the injustices in the world. The wars for profits and stealing wealth from other nations. The way businesses exploit our labor. The destruction of mother nature and the environment. Trying to halt the hatred people have towards each other, for things like their skin color or their sexuality. We're... rather vocal about it.”

“Maybe a few years ago I'd call that crazy,” Greg began after a moment. “But things I've seen and heard the past couple of years make me kinda think that too. I never thought a lot about it, but there sure are a lot of things that could use fixing. I never knew how I could help, so I figured the least I could do is play good music and make people feel happier. And if I ever made a lot of money, I'd want to find a way to give it back. I could never hoard it all like some of these rich guys do.”

Rose smiled. “I had a feeling you wouldn't. Maybe you're not all that well-read, but you have a huge heart. I thought I could sense it that night I saw you up there on the stage.”

“Is that one of my little quirky personality traits that you love about me?”

“I'd say it's a big one,” Rose replied.

“So, dating Pearl, in a band with a bunch of women who hate capitalism and corruption, digging my big heart. Do I have the basics down?”

“You do.”

“There's still that thing about Diamonds, though. That Jasper woman at the gig said you were in a band before?”

The two of them found a bench on the boardwalk. Rose took a seat, and Greg sat next to her. He then scooted over a little bit so they were touching. They looked at each other, blushed, and then Rose looked out towards the horizon.

“Before The Crystal Gems, before I knew any of them... aside from Pearl, who I was starting to get close to. Back then, I wasn't going by Rose Quartz. When I was with them, I was Pink Diamond. It was myself and the other three. Their stage names are Blue Diamond, Yellow Diamond, and White Diamond. Together, we called ourselves The Diamond Authority.”

“The... The Diamond Authority? I think that sounds familiar, actually. Maybe I heard the name from Vidalia, but I'm really bad at remembering the names of other bands and artists in the area. There's just so many of them.”

Rose nodded, though began to frown. “It was good, for awhile. Considering we were an all-women band, you'd think we'd have a lot of trouble breaking through. We did have some bumps, but we got popular pretty quickly. We were close to each other, and I loved the popularity we were getting. Then one day, something clicked in my head: why not use this platform for good? People listened to our music, they came to our shows, they bought our merchandise. I saw an opportunity to reach people in a way that so many others could not.”

Rose continued. “But you see, the others – they had no interest in wanting the band to get involved. Yellow would tell me how those politics had no place in the music business. White wanted nothing to do with it, thinking it childish of me to be angry about injustice. Blue was... sympathetic, but more in a pitiful way than a sympathetic way. Whenever I tried to talk to the crowds or say something in an interview, they'd cut me off.”

Greg nodded. “Sounds to me like they didn't treat you like an equal.”

“They didn't. And that's not all. Eventually, I found out that... well, our popularity wasn't entirely all on our own. I started to learn the truth of our fame. It involved bribes and sabotaging and other shady things. I even found out that there was some... trafficking of illegal substances, to help finance the band. Anyway, all of this was piling up, and frustrating me to no end. The final straw happened at a show we were doing a few states south.”

“What happened?”

Rose recalled the story.

* * *

Rose Quartz put the finishing touches on her makeup, pressing her lips together and studying herself in the mirror. She untangled her hair a bit, brushing some behind her ears to get it out of her face. She went to look for her silver rose – a pin she liked to wear in her hair when she performed sometimes. It wasn't in her vanity, nor anywhere in the room. The last place she recalled seeing it was somewhere backstage.

Picking herself up, Rose left the room. The Diamond Authority wasn't supposed to be on for about another forty minutes, so she had plenty of time to find it. Still, she hurried, and set off to find it.

She traveled from the dressing room, through the halls and corners of the venue. The sound of music reverberating, mixed in with the din of shouting and yelling. She made her way to the area behind the stage and began rummaging through a few containers. Despite the loud sounds, she tried to keep quiet.

Finally, she found it. With a grin she put it on her head and adjusted it. Rose began to head back to the dressing room when something caught her eye. She stood for a moment, then realized that Yellow Diamond was standing off to the side. Rose looked at her quizzically, wondering why she'd be behind the stage too. Then, Yellow Diamond disappeared. Rose was confused for a moment before realizing that Yellow had entered a panel in the floor and was under the stage. Rose walked over to the spot and followed her down.

It was darker, and harder to make out the details. When they were on the stage, she could make out Yellow's signature business suit that she wore during shows. And her hair, framing her face and seemingly pointed in the front (thanks to lots of hairspray). But down here, not even her yellow dyed hair was noticeable.

Yellow was doing something to the ceiling – the floor of the stage. Rose slowly approached, curiosity taking over. Yellow hadn't noticed her. Then, Rose spoke.

“Yellow? What are you doing?”

Yellow stopped what she was doing and turned around. Though they stood quite a bit apart, Rose still had to look up a little to make eye contact with the taller woman.

“Taking care of some business before our set,” she said in a matter of fact tone.

“Business? Down here?”

Yellow walked forward, keeping her eyes locked with Rose's. “That is correct, Pink. Need I remind you that while you spend your free time goofing off, the rest of us are the ones who ensure the band is properly looked after? You should go back to the dressing room and you will be summoned when we're ready to perform.”

Rose glanced at the floorboards. “Yellow... you're messing around with the boards down here. Someone could get hurt if they're jumping around now that the boards have less support.”

“And?”

Rose blinked. “The band before us, they-”

“May be unfortunate enough to sustain an injury due to an oversight on the venue's management.”

“Yellow! This... whatever this is, it's not right. I doubt it's legal, and it definitely is not _morally_ right!”

“ _Morally right_?” Yellow laughed. “Pink, this isn't about morality. This is about ensuring the success of our band, to see the four of us rise up and dominate the music scene. We will accomplish this goal by any means necessary. Nobody makes it to the big time by playing by the rules, do you understand?”

Rose clenched her fists, opened her mouth to argue... but averted her gaze and looked down at the ground.

“I understand,” she replied.

* * *

Greg sat there after she finished. He slowly put a hand on her shoulder and took in a breath. “I never would have imagined that a music band would be so... horrible. No wonder you ended up quitting.”

“I quit and never looked back, and I vowed that I would do as much good in this world as I could. So long as people like them exist, it's the least I can do. I just feel so stupid for going along with them for so long.”

“Hey, it's not your fault. You didn't realize what they were doing the whole time, and you wanted to try and make something good out of it. And when you couldn't, you bailed. I think I would've done the same if I was in your shoes.”

“You think you would?”

“Of course, I would feel disgusting knowing that my platform was built on deceit and debauchery. Who wants to become famous by backstabbing your fellow musicians and being insincere to the whole music scene?”

Rose stayed quiet for a few moments. “You really are quite something, Greg. Thank you for sympathizing.”

“I think I'd be a terrible guy if I couldn't,” Greg replied.

Rose straightened herself out. She looked at Greg. Greg looked at her. The moon began to peer over the horizon. It gazed down on Rose and Greg as the two of them shared their first kiss.


	4. The Crystal Gems

Greg walked out onto the beach and headed towards the Crystal Gems' house. Grinning, he hummed the tune to one of his songs, Let Me Drive My Van (Into Your Heart). He'd been having a great day and he was looking forward to the evening. 

Rose had explained it once to Greg, but he didn't quite understand. And frankly, he thought that even Rose herself didn't understand. But a property on a small slither of the beach, including part of the cliff, was in Bismuth's name and thus she could do with it as she pleased. Apparently, her parents – who she didn't like talking about – had built a house partially into the Earth itself. Once the Crystal Gems had become a thing, Bismuth went to work and did expansions and improvements to it, making a fairly well-sized house that they could all live in comfortably. 

However it came into her possession didn't matter – they had a home together. 

He walked up the wooden steps leading to the entrance; a screen door was set next to a large rectangular window. He knocked and, after a few moments, the door behind the screen door opened. Garnet stood there. 

“Hey Garnet. How's it going?” 

“Quite fine, Greg. We've been expecting you.” 

“Well, I'd hope so. I've been looking forward to this show for weeks.” 

And that was true. Almost a month had passed since Rose and Greg had their first kiss, and in between doing their own things, they'd gotten to spend more time together. Rose had managed to attend two more of Greg's shows, and now it was time for Greg to finally see Rose perform in a local show in Beach City. And despite being fellow musicians, he still didn't know much about the music side of the Crystal Gems. 

Garnet opened the door and Greg stepped in. Amethyst was sitting on a kitchen counter and reading a magazine. She was making idle chit-chat with Bismuth who stood across from her. Rose and Pearl, meanwhile, were on the couch and sitting comfortably close to each other. 

Rose looked up and noticed Greg. “Greg! You're here”. She stood up quickly, and Pearl awkwardly fell onto the spot where she had been sitting. Rose locked her hands with Greg and they kissed. 

“Hey! You excited for tonight?” Greg asked. 

“Yes. We haven't played a show in nearly two months. We've been practicing for most of the day, and we're trying to take it easy until it's our time to shine. You know, don't wanna overwork ourselves and get exhausted halfway through the whole thing.” 

Greg nodded. “Yeah, I hear ya. Sometimes Vidalia wants me to practice a ton before a show and I'm like, alright, you got it. But I usually don't do it much cause I know it'll end up tiring me out.” 

“That's smart,” Garnet interjected. “It's good to try and see the big picture. It's much better than only living in the moment.”

“Or, you can be like me, and never be out of energy!” Amethyst hopped off the counter and began jumping and headbanging. 

“You're definitely the spunkiest out of all of us, you little Pinscher.” Bismuth said. 

“Hey, what'd you call me?” 

Bismuth chuckled. “Relax, it's a dog breed! No reason to woof yourself over it.” 

Amethyst frowned. “Alright, that pun was kinda lame, dude.” 

Bismuth shrugged. “I would've had to paws a bit longer if I wanted a better one.” 

Amethyst grinned. “Ahh! I see how you're going. Nice one.” 

Greg glanced over at Garnet, who was over by the fridge and putting some bottles of water into a bag, along with little things like cloths and chips. It looked like she was getting some things together to bring to the show.

She looked up. Even though Garnet wore her sunglasses, he could feel her making eye contact. Wordless, she opened up a drawer, pulled out some stacks of paper, and put them into another bag. 

“Even if we don't play concerts as much as we'd like,” Garnet began, “it's still an opportunity to educate people. Before, during, and after the show.” 

“Maybe I should start doing that,” Greg muttered. 

“Oh!” Greg snapped his fingers. “That reminds me. I don't think I've ever heard any of you guys' songs. I mean, I don't even know what instruments you play. All I know is that Rose sings.” 

“Hmm, is that so?” Rose looked confused for a moment. “I must have never brought it up. Well, we have some softer songs. Rock ballads. But we do have a few heavier ones too. I bet you'd love Magma Madness! That's a song Bismuth wrote, and it has an amazing part where she and Amethyst kind of go back and forth with these fast solo parts. Like, stupidly fast.” 

“That sounds pretty hot! What is it, two guitar solos?” 

“Uh-uh,” Bismuth interjected. “Amethyst here is our drummer.” Amethyst made some motions as if she were playing the drums. “I keep it all together with the bass.” 

“I'm the guitarist,” Garnet said. 

“Ah, so Garnet's the guitarist.” Greg pointed at her. “Maybe you and I can jam out sometime, come up with a cool riff or something.” 

“I would love to see that,” Rose said. “You just kind of have random people every time you play, right? You're the main attraction, so to speak? Perhaps you could play with us sometime.” 

“I'd be glad to. Garnet and I could switch up between being the lead guitar and rhythm.” 

“I'd not mind that at all,” Garnet agreed. 

“So what about Pearl, then? Is she rhythm guitar?” 

“No, Pearl plays the keys,” Garnet told him. 

“The keyboard, huh? Well, that's good. There'd already be you, me, Bismuth and Rose moving around the stage. The last player sitting at the keyboard will help it not get too hectic out there.” 

Bismuth and Amethyst chuckled. Greg was confused; he eyed Pearl sitting on the couch and saw her grin as she stood up. 

“I think you misunderstand, Greg,” Rose began. “She doesn't sit or stand in place.” 

“But she plays the keyboard?” 

“Pearl plays a keytar,” Rose told him. “In fact, I'd say she's the most agile of us all. Why, you're going to be amazed seeing all the jumping and spinning and acrobatics she does. It's incredibly graceful, too... almost like a dance.” 

Pearl gave a short shrug. “Natural talent, really.” 

“That's cool! I've never seen someone play a keytar in person. I bet you're great at it.” 

“I think we should be heading off to the venue,” Pearl said. 

“Good idea. We don't want to be late... again.” Bismuth sighed. “Remember that show in Mountain Village?” 

“Yeah.” Amethyst bit her lip. “We, uh, were actually late to our last gig and they only let us up on stage for one song.” 

“If you hadn't been busy taking shots with the groupies...” Pearl scoffed. 

“Hey, I got distracted,” Amethyst said. “But whatever, we won't be late this time. Hey Greg, you're a strong guy, right? Could you help me move some of my stuff? It's not that heavy, but there's a lot of it to get out to the car.” 

“Sure. Down to Bismuth's van?” 

“Yep.” 

“Alright.” Greg kissed Rose before giving Amethyst a hand with her drum set. He eyed the others and the various boxes and cases that they were bringing out. The main thing that caught his eye was that Bismuth seemed to handle the heaviest things, and carried amplifiers and other equipment on her own. It took a few trips, but Greg was sure they'd gotten everything down. Garnet, Rose, Bismuth and Amethyst were shifting things around trying to make room in the van. For the sake of room, Greg was going to take Rose and Amethyst in his van, while the other two would ride with Bismuth. 

“Aw, damn!” Amethyst groaned. “Greg, uh, would you mind grabbing my sticks? I got a bunch in a box, they should be on the kitchen counter.” 

“No problem, be back in a minute.” Greg paced quickly back to the beach house and up the steps, his mind focused on finding the drumsticks. He hurried inside and scanned the house quickly, and sure enough he found a box laying on the counter with them. He grabbed them, exited, and began going down the steps.” 

“You're just a phase. You know that, right?” 

Greg turned around. Pearl was standing on the balcony looking over the beach, puffing on a cigarette. 

Greg groaned. “I believe you've told me once or twice.” 

“And you don't seem to grasp it,” Pearl began. “You don't know Rose. You don't know her like I do. You really think you're the first guy she found straggling alone out there and brought home like an abandoned dog? She'll get bored of you soon enough, and leave you behind the same as the others.” 

“Rose wouldn't do that. I know that we have going on is something special.” Greg was starting to get annoyed; he'd tried multiple times to be on friendly terms with Pearl, but every time he'd been met with resistance. Whether offering some sort of help, or trying to start up a conversation, she'd be disinterested at best, or passively aggressive at worst.” 

“And the rest thought the same,” Pearl said with a smug smile. She took another drag of her cigarette and dropped it. “They were simply little sparks to her, just as you are. And the sparks never became a fire.” Pearl lifted her foot, stepped on the cigarette butt and twisted it underfoot. “They were snuffed out, sooner or later.” 

Pearl walked past him and began heading down the stairs. 

“I'm just warning you is all,” she said with a wave. “I'd be quite devastated if your feelings got hurt.” 

* * * 

Greg turned off the faucet and looked at himself in the mirror. He grinned at the drunk man staring back at him and took another sip of his beer. He stretched his arms behind his back, and opened the door to the bathroom. The music got louder as he re-entered the party. 

The sudden explosion of music in his ears brought flashbacks of the concert. Amethyst thundering away on the drums. Bismuth somehow launching Pearl into the air, who then did a backflip in the middle of her keytar solo. And of course, Rose's beautiful voice. He could honestly say that he'd never seen a more energetic band in his life. 

He wandered through the rooms of the house. After the show he'd ended up at an after party somewhere just outside of Beach City. The largest of the rooms had drinks, food, and plenty of loud music that drowned out any attempt to have a conversation. The Gems and a few others had found a room off to the side where the music wasn't quite as loud and they could hear each other reasonably. 

“Watch it!” 

“Oh, sorry,” Greg slurred a little bit as he spoke. He blinked a few moments and then recognized the girl he'd bumped into. “Oh! Hey. It was, uh, Peridot, right?” 

The shorter girl gave a curt nod. Greg was used to being a bit on the taller side, but even by his standards he'd consider her short. She was wearing a green hoodie, some sort of circular sunglasses, and her yellow hair whipped around her head and made it look at least twice as big. Or maybe that was the alcohol kicking in. 

“Yes. And you're Greg? Maybe you'd like to help me carry one of these?” 

Greg looked down and saw her carrying two six-packs. Nodding, he grabbed one and followed her. She pushed on through the crowd, almost as if she were a determined heroine on a quest. He hadn't known her for long – Rose introduced him to her and her girlfriend Lapis after the show. Rose didn't spend much time introducing them, only enough to inform them that they were huge fans of The Crystal Gems and followed them around to all their shows. To Greg's surprise, they weren't your typical creepy stalkerish fans, they were actually pretty cool and respected the gems. They didn't even know their actual names, just that everyone called them Peridot and Lapis. The latter short for Lapis Lazuli. 

Evidently, they liked the Crystal Gems enough to pick out gemstone nicknames too. 

In a few moments they went into the room with everyone else. Unlike the rest of the house, it wasn't too loud. The lights were dim. Pearl and Rose were sitting together on a couch, though Rose began to shift once she saw Greg. Amethyst and Bismuth were standing over by a table, talking loudly and belching. Greg surmised that they were playing some sort of drinking game. Garnet leaned against a wall, sipping a bottle of beer. Lapis sat alone in an armchair, her face a mixture of interest, yet distant. 

“Peridot,” Lapis said. She smiled when she saw Peridot. Peridot walked over to the chair and gave her a quick kiss on the lips. 

“Distribute those if you would, Greg,” Peridot instructed. Greg opened the box and took out three bottles. He handed one to Garnet who nodded and placed it on a end table near her. She went to hand one each to Bismuth and Amethyst, who swiped them eagerly and went back into whatever world they were enveloped in. He grabbed two more and went to Rose and Pearl. 

“Here, Pearl.” Greg held the bottle out to her. 

“Greg!” Rose stood up and hugged Greg in a tight embrace. Greg became blind as his face filled with pink hair. He felt a force pulling at the bottle and let it go. 

“Hey. I ran into Peridot on the way back. There's more in hers, I've only got this one left.” 

Rose kissed Greg on the cheek. She leaned over to look at Peridot and Lapis. “Maybe we'll leave those for them.” Greg turned and looked at them; Lapis no longer sat alone on the chair. Peridot sat in her lap and they were kissing between swigs of their drinks. 

“I suppose we'll have to share this one then.” Greg smirked as he grabbed a bottle opener from his pocket and opened up the bottle. He took a few sips and then handed it to Rose.

Lapis gently stroked Peridot's cheek and giggled. “But yeah, Rose, you guys should really check out that band.” 

“Which was that?” Rose blinked and seemed to strain to listen. 

“The band! The one that's a bunch of women, just like you Crystal Gems. And their lead singer, she plays a sick guitar. And she's got this crazy pink hair like you.” 

“And she plays the bass?” Pearl inquired. She was about halfway through her fresh bottle.

“And owns the stage. Kind of like you do, Pearl, which I find to be one of your most impressive talents.” Peridot nodded and pointed at Pearl. “You'll hardly be paying attention to the other band members.” 

“Maybe we could see them sometime. Wouldn't that be nice, Rose?” 

But Rose didn't answer Pearl. Rose's thoughts were lost in the rock star in front of her.


	5. Chapter 5

After giving it some thought I have decided that I am not going to finish this story. I am however going to share notes I had on the story, that way anyone who was keeping up with this story and wanted to know where it would go would know just as much as I do. 

As for the reasoning - Shortly after beginning this story, I found myself in a rut when it came to writing and couldn't find the spark to sit down and continue the story. And also due to some personal reasons, one of the major plotlines hits a bit too close to home and I don't think I'd be comfortable nor capable of writing the story as I originally envisioned. Even if I were to complete it, I think in a way it would be disingenuous. I apologize to anyone who was hooked on the story and looking forward to seeing the rest. 

That said, I do have notes and thoughts to share. Whenever I start writing a story I have a skeleton of sorts - basically, I know how I want it to begin, I have a rough idea of the ending, and at least two or so important things I want to have happen. Then I begin writing and that skeleton serves as a guide and I let the rest of the story flesh itself out as I bring the characters and stories to life. The following is what I had written and had planned for Crescendo of the Stars. 

\- Basically, in this AU the gems were meant to come across as some sort of group of socialists who were primarily interested in direct help, e.g. providing food and other assistance to the extent of the capabilities, as well as teaching anti-capitalist principles to people. I felt this reflected well in terms of "how could one portray what Rose and her rebellion stood for if she were only a human?" 

\- The Crystal Gems + Greg would eventually run into Blue Diamond and Yellow Diamond individually, before running into all three of them at once. White Diamond would happen to know a few things about Greg, including his actual last name. Greg would also have thought that White's eerie unsettling energy would give off the impression she's almost like a cartoon villain. The Diamonds' whole thing is that they think Pink/Rose is being silly and immature and if she won't rejoin their band, they're going to make sure she and the Gems would not be successful. 

\- Over time, Rose would open up to Greg about the Diamonds and tell her more about her past. 

\- Amethyst grew up in a foster home. Pearl had abusive parents and it traumatized her. I did not think much of a backstory for Garnet or the rest. 

\- The Diamond Authority rose in popularity and sales primarily through sabotage and influence. As shown in the story when Rose spoke about a past show, the Diamonds ruined another band's set, thus allowing them to get on stage earlier and "save" the show. They also used connections to get more air time, to push merchandise, etc. Basically, using fairly shady business practices. The climax of the story was going to be that The Crystal Gems manage to somehow expose them and get them arrested, thus ruining their careers. The Gems would then go on and continue to see success as a music group. There was no plan to have Steven involved/Greg and Rose talking about having a kid etc. 

\- A major subplot of the story is the issue of Rose dating Pearl and Greg at the same time. Pearl, growing more and more jealous of Greg, was about to go to a rock show where she'd meet Mystery Girl/Sabina. They'd hit it off quite well. Pearl begins spending more time with her to try and cope with what she feels is Rose ignoring her and the relationship. Greg is more or less oblivious, as is Rose. Greg and Pearl would eventually have a pretty serious talk where Pearl would realize she was putting in a lot more effort to Rose than Rose gave back to her, which is wrong. Greg would realize he kind of jumped into the whole thing and kinda harmed what Pearl and Rose had. Rose would realize she was being rather self-centered, both in not noticing Pearl being hurt, and how she was in a way keeping an emotional distance to Greg. Ultimately, they'd all overcome their problems in an amicable way - Rose and Greg would be happily together, Rose and Pearl would mend their issues and keep being together, and Pearl would continue dating Sabina (who all the while would be pretty cool and understanding of what Pearl's going through). Basically creating a bit of an interesting polyam situation that worked out for them all. 

And there you have it! That was the skeleton I was working with. Again I apologize for not wanting to continue the story, but I at least hope that there's some closure here in getting to know the general major points I wanted to touch upon .


End file.
